Many situations we encounter in daily life force us to recognize that we already live in the age of the information-oriented society. We also hear future prospects for life and society discussed in terms of expected advances in information and communications technologies. However, in these rapidly changing technologies, two weeks is a very long time and anything going back two years is almost a fossil. For instance, the word 'Internet' was little used two years ago, but now it attracts intense worldwide attention. This makes it very difficult to read the future with any degree of confidence. Generally, the key to creating new products and new markets is thought to lie in fostering market-oriented development. Today, though, when it is hard to grasp changes in the market place, we need to consider the case for basing our suggestions for new products and markets on readings of the future that reflect a proper understanding of the nature of technology, later 'brushing up' these suggestions with user- and market-oriented improvements. This book adopts the latter method. The book is divided into three parts. In the first, for technologies that promise to make great future advances, current efforts and achievements are described along with the directions in which these technologies are headed. In the second part of the book covers the development and production technologies that will be needed to bring new products to market. Finally, the third part explores systems based on these products and technologies, and share our practical vision of what the advanced information-oriented society will be like. Readers: engineers and technologists, IT-experts.